Bill Kennard leaves NY Times for EU ambassadorship

William Kennard, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has resigned from the board of the New York Times Co. to become the U.S. ambassador to the European Union.

Kennard, who served as the head of the FCC under President Bill Clinton, was nominated by President Obama to the ambassadorship. The U.S. Senate confirmed his appointment last Friday.

He left the FCC in January 2001, when George W. Bush became president.

Since then, Kennard has joined the private sector in a variety of roles, including as managing director in the global telecommunications and media unit of The Carlyle Group and as a director on several corporate boards including Hawaiian Telcom and Insight Communications.